Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Investigation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Investigation game?

Investigation

Of 1,355 developers who shipped an Investigation game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 2,463 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×698 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 2,463 games are announced against 790 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 2,463 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Investigation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,355
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $2.7k → $2.4k → $2.8k → $2.2k → $1.7k → $1.5k (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Investigation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,355
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,676)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,167)
Top 5% $331k (exactly $331,429)
Developers, 2 yr 1,355
Released games 3,800
Announced 2,463
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 15% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Investigation
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Investigation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 516,302 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 733 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,463 games are announced against 790 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Investigation

85 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Quick-Time Events + Investigation Poor odds $1.2k 16 devs
  2. FPS + Investigation Poor odds $1.1k 80 devs
  3. Investigation + Board Game Poor odds $1.0k 19 devs
  4. Programming + Investigation Poor odds $1.0k 13 devs
  5. Building + Investigation Poor odds $1.0k 16 devs
  6. Investigation + Hidden Object Poor odds $987 321 devs
  7. Third-Person Shooter + Investigation Poor odds $980 17 devs
  8. Stealth + Investigation Poor odds $972 115 devs
  9. Combat + Investigation Poor odds $959 66 devs
  10. CRPG + Investigation Poor odds $959 17 devs
  11. Action-Adventure + Investigation Poor odds $899 229 devs
  12. Party Game + Investigation Poor odds $899 20 devs
  13. Investigation + Tabletop Poor odds $898 17 devs
  14. Political Sim + Investigation Poor odds $898 13 devs
  15. Shooter + Investigation Poor odds $750 56 devs
  16. Investigation + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $719 50 devs
  17. Action RPG + Investigation Poor odds $719 33 devs
  18. Tactical + Investigation Poor odds $629 32 devs
  19. PvE + Investigation Poor odds $628 75 devs
  20. Investigation + Time Management Poor odds $539 53 devs
  21. 2D Platformer + Investigation Poor odds $539 29 devs
  22. Strategy RPG + Investigation Poor odds $539 15 devs
  23. Strategy + Investigation Poor odds $478 133 devs
  24. Collectathon + Investigation Poor odds $449 33 devs
  25. Investigation + Mystery Dungeon Poor odds $358 31 devs
  26. Turn-Based Tactics + Investigation Poor odds $210 9 devs
  27. Co-op Campaign + Investigation Dead $210k 5 devs
  28. Turn-Based Combat + Investigation Dead $11k 9 devs
  29. Hunting + Investigation Dead $1.8k 8 devs
  30. Dungeon Crawler + Investigation Dead $300 20 devs
  31. Arcade + Investigation Dead $269 28 devs
  32. Investigation + Solitaire Dead $239 11 devs
  33. 3D Platformer + Investigation Dead $210 42 devs
  34. Real Time Tactics + Investigation Dead $120 15 devs
  35. Creature Collector + Investigation Dead $119 7 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Phasmophobia 2020 · EA · $410M PEAK 2025 · $72M Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 2024 · $27M Magical Girl Witch Trials 2025 · $27M Police Simulator: Patrol Officers 2022 · $23M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Phasmophobia · EA older $19.99 684,009 94% 21M $410M (exactly $410,200,197) Kinetic Games
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle $69.99 13,058 89% 392k $27M (exactly $27,417,883) MachineGames
Magical Girl Witch Trials $29.99 29,869 96% 896k $27M (exactly $26,873,139) Acacia, Re,AER
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers older $39.99 18,880 75% 566k $23M (exactly $22,650,336) Aesir Interactive
Big Walk $19.99 32,470 95% 974k $19M (exactly $19,472,259) House House
L.A. Noire older $19.99 31,099 85% 933k $19M (exactly $18,650,070) Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds
Content Warning older $7.99 72,444 93% 2.2M $17M (exactly $17,364,827) Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog
Heavy Rain older $19.99 26,503 85% 795k $16M (exactly $15,893,849) Quantic Dream
Blue Prince $29.99 17,498 85% 525k $16M (exactly $15,742,951) Dogubomb
MECCHA CHAMELEON $5.99 78,746 87% 2.4M $14M (exactly $14,150,656) lemorion_1224
The Precinct $29.99 7,837 87% 235k $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) Fallen Tree Games Ltd
Back to the Dawn $23.99 8,555 94% 257k $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) Metal Head Games
The Roottrees are Dead $19.99 9,700 96% 291k $5.8M (exactly $5,817,090) Evil Trout Inc.
LOCKDOWN Protocol $9.99 16,605 86% 498k $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) Mirage Creative Lab

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.